


Hea(r)t Stroke

by finwaytootired



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Prophecy (Final Fantasy XV), Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Polyship Roadtrip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 22:30:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20478515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finwaytootired/pseuds/finwaytootired
Summary: Caught in summer traffic, some love confessions are made.





	Hea(r)t Stroke

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting around as a WIP for so long that it's now September and technically (according to me) not even summer anymore. There's a second chapter that I never finished, but if this one is received well I may be inclined to continue. For now it'll be marked as a one-off.

It had been a long morning. 

Too long, if you asked Ignis who was sitting behind the wheel of the Regalia in the third spot of heavy traffic of the day. Summer had arrived, and with it brought endless numbers of Insomnians migrating out of the city to head to their respective vacation destinations — the Prince and his retinue included. King Regis had insisted upon this particular excursion, claiming that his son and his friends needed to enjoy their youth, and on top of that, it would be good for Noctis to be seen interacting with people outside the city as his own health prevented him from doing so. Ignis suspected ulterior motives — if the King and his shield’s disconcertingly cheerful dispositions had been anything to go by — but nevertheless he acquiesced.

So there he was, en route to Galdin Quay and roasting under the late morning sun in bumper-to-bumper traffic. At least none of his passengers were complaining; Prompto was quietly reviewing photos next to him, Gladio was engrossed in his reading, and Noct appeared to be asleep. The cars in front of him rolled slowly forward and Ignis lifted his foot off the brake to follow suit. They barely moved more than a few meters, but any movement was better than none as far as Ignis was concerned. He heaved a frustrated sigh, desperate for this miserable drive to be over.

“Need to switch, Iggy?” 

“No thank you, Gladio, I’m alright.” _Physically, at least_, he added to himself. “Besides, we won’t get to Galdin any faster by switching drivers.”

“Okay,” Gladio replied, skepticism evident in his tone. “But let me know if you change your mind, yeah?”

“I will, thank you.” Ignis turned his attention to the radio then, hoping to find out how much longer they’d be stuck on this Astrals-damned strip of road. Unfamiliar with any stations outside Insomnia, he flipped through a few until he settled on one that sounded like a traffic report.

“_...construction ongoing on the road from Insomnia to Hammerhead. Expect delays of up to an hour…_”

Not the news he wanted to hear.

“Oh, fuck me,” the advisor hissed, temporarily losing his composure as he switched off the radio.

“Gladly,” Prompto responded, gaze still focused on the camera he held in his lap.

Ignis’ attention snapped to the blond, cheeks dusted pink and disbelief written all over his face. _Had he heard correctly?_ Prompto lifted his head to return the look as his brain seemed to finally catch up with his mouth. Those violet eyes went wide and a blush spread like wildfire from his scalp to his shoulders, stuttered noises escaping his mouth.

“Didn’t know you had the hots for Specs, Prom,” an apparently awake Noctis teased from the backseat.

“I, uhhh… It-It was just a joke!”

“So how come you’re redder than Ifrit’s balls?” Gladio gibed.

“How come you know what Ifrit’s balls look like?” Prompto retorted. It was a poor attempt at a deflection, but before Gladio could clap back Ignis spoke up.

“It’s alright Prompto,” he assured. “I know you and Noct often joke in that manner, so you simply weren’t thinking when you said it.” The advisor had re-schooled his expression by then, but to his own chagrin, heat was still present in his face. Logically he knew his explanation was the most likely scenario, however, a (highly embarrassing) part of him wished it wasn’t just a slip of the tongue. Ever since the blond had entered Noctis’ life Ignis had had a ridiculous crush on him. Although pre-dated by his other equally ridiculous crushes on his two oldest and only other friends, Prompto had quickly carved out a special place in his heart. That sunny disposition was infectious, and his naivete to the finer living of the Citadel was endearing. And Ramuh, the way his tank tops put those muscled biceps on display…

“Thanks, Ignis.” The soft reply brought him back from his thoughts.

“Yes, of course.”

Noctis emitted a dramatic sigh. “My own best friend wants to bone my advisor. The absolute betrayal of it all…”

“Betrayal? You admitting you got a thing for Iggy?” Gladio smirked.

“Uh no, totally not,” the Prince said in his usual flippant tone, though a very visible redness colored his face. “I mean, he’s unfairly good-looking, and literally perfect in every way, but obviously I’m not gonna date him ‘cause everything’s _so_ super platonic and whatever…”

“What about you big guy?” Prompto interjected, apparently unwilling to let the shield get away without a taste of his own medicine. “Are _you_ into Ignis?”

Gladiolus grinned mischievously and looked up at Prompto, who had turned around in his seat. “Alright kid, I’ll bite,” he replied knowingly. “Me ‘n’ Iggy sometimes-”

“Gladiolus!”

Had he not had bigger things to worry about, Ignis would have been embarrassed by the way his voice had cracked. As it stood, he had no interest in hearing one of his crushes discuss their shared sexual history with his other two crushes. The conversation thus far had been embarrassing enough.

His three passengers sat in silence, though it was obvious the metaphorical cogs in the younger two’s heads were turning. Noctis was the first to speak up.

“Hold up. You…and Specs…”

“Wait, what about them?” Prompto asked, genuinely lost.

Noct pantomimed the act of sex with his hands; clearly still processing this new information.

“Shit, seriously!?” The blond’s previously fading blush returned full force as he turned to face Gladio again. “What the hell, man!? Making fun of us when you’ve already banged him!”

“Technically he’s usually the one doing the banging.”

If any — or all — of the Astrals could strike him dead in that moment, Ignis would have been grateful. He was beyond mortified, but with no way to escape — save jumping out of the Regalia and running off into the desert — there wasn’t much he could do. Yes, he’d gotten intimate with Gladio a few times, but it was just casual. The shield had a reputation around the Citadel of being a playboy, so Ignis did his best to keep his feelings out of it. And it’s not like his other options were viable; trying to pursue the Prince would have been highly improper, and pursuing Prompto would have been rude to Noct. Though based on the conversation thus far, it seemed no one else was particularly concerned with rudeness or impropriety.

“Come on, Specs, why’d you choose Gladio of all people?”

“Hey watch it, Princess.”

Ignis sighed inwardly. _If you can’t beat them, might as well join them_. “And who would you have preferred I ‘chose,’ Noctis?”

“I… Well… Me, I guess,” Noct meekly replied, though he met his advisor’s gaze in the rearview mirror all the same. “Only if you liked me too though ‘cause that’d be shitty of me otherwise... But do you? Like me, I mean...?”

Ignis found himself at a loss for words at Noctis’ partial confession. There it was, the perfect opportunity to finally admit his long-held love, to tell Noct that yes he did ‘like’ him and he had for a very long time. But _Astrals_ the ramifications were so great. If someone of his lowly standing were discovered to be romantically involved with Noctis, _his prince_, the king and the council would be up in arms, sending the glaives after Ignis faster than he could say ‘execution.’

Perhaps it was his considerably built-up stress or the heat frying his brain, but Ignis suddenly found himself dismissing the potential doom swimming around in his head. _At least if he were to die he’d die honest_, the part of his mind formerly considered traitorous argued, and he felt inclined to agree.

“Noctis Lucis Caelum,” he began, putting the car in park before turning around to face his charge. “If you really must know, I love you. And you, Gladiolus Amicitia, and you, Prompto Argentum. I love everyone in this Astral-forsaken vehicle and would happily have all of you in my bed. Does that settle everything?” With that he turned back around, noticing for the first time in a while that the line of cars had once more moved ahead.

The silence that followed was audible as Ignis unparked and eased the Regalia forward, three faces gaping at him as though he’d suddenly sprouted wings.

“Shit, Iggy, you okay?” Gladio finally managed. “You got a heat stroke or something?”

“Perhaps my mind is a bit touched, yes, and I might have the decency to be shameful later, but at the moment it feels quite liberating to have everything out in the open.”

“So the part about having us all in bed…” Prompto ventured.

“I’ve said what I’ve said.”

“Fuuuck,” Noct groaned in the back. “Any way I can warp us all to Galdin right now?”

“I’m afraid not, Highness. You’ll just have to wait.”

* * *

That was easier said than done, as Ignis quickly found himself wishing that Noctis could transport them all immediately to their hotel. It would still be a good while before they arrived at Galdin, and Ignis wasn’t sure he’d be able to wait that long. Excitement and arousal had begun gnawing at his insides, almost tempting him to stop them all at Hammerhead for the night. Almost. Based on his pre-departure research, Hammerhead was a small town, designed more as a rest stop than anything else, and certainly nowhere near as scenic and romantic as Galdin’s resort area. No, stopping there would make him seem desperate, and the last thing he wanted was to seem desperate. Out of the four of them, he was supposed to be the cool, level-headed one; never letting his emotions influence his decisions. _Though I suppose we’re past that point_, he thought to himself. Thus he continued to weigh his options, going back and forth in his head until Gladio’s voice cut in.

“Hey Iggy, how come you didn’t tell me how you felt sooner?”

Ah. He’d been expecting this question.

“I’m sure you’re aware of how the Glaive talk about you. I was simply trying to protect myself.” Despite his preparation, that clearly wasn’t the right answer if the disgust that had manifested itself on the shield’s face was anything to go by.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Ignis?” he asked, his tone stern but devoid of anger. “All those assholes do is spread rumors. Maybe I flirt a lot but I definitely I don’t just sleep around with any pretty face. And even if I did it doesn’t change the fact that you coulda told me you were into me from the get go. Ain’t up to you to decide my feelings for me.”

“I…” Ignis began, trying to find a way to justify his behavior. But of course he couldn’t because — though he was somewhat embarrassed to admit it — Gladio was correct. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I sincerely apologize.”

“It’s cool, just..don’t do it again, ‘kay?”

“Certainly. Though considering I’ve already confessed, I’d say the chances of a repeat scenario are quite low.”

A warm laugh rumbled from the large man’s chest. “Yeah, guess so.”

Silence fell over the car again, though it was short lived. Prompto, who had previously returned to fiddling with his camera, was now squirming in his seat looking very uncomfortable. He opened his mouth, appearing to be about to speak, but abruptly shut it and furrowed his brow.

“Is there something you’d like to say, Prompto?” Ignis gently prompted.

The blond hesitated for another moment or two before finding his voice. “Well, um… I figured since you were able to say how you felt, I should be honest too. I really like you, and it’s really amazing that someone as cool as you likes a loser like me but uh...the main thing I wanted to say was...I like you too, Noct. And Gladio too.”

“I know,” the two in the back replied in unintentional unison.

“What?!” Prompto squawked. “How?!”

“Dude,” Noctis drawled, “I can’t even count how many times we’ve either made out, gone down on each other, or fucked. Pretty sure you weren’t doing all that just to be friendly.”

“I was aware of this as well,” Ignis added. “Despite both your attempts at subtlety, it really was quite obvious.”

“Well chocobos sure ain’t known for bein’ subtle,” Gladio teased. “Can’t say I never noticed all those times you popped a boner while training with me or the other two.”

Prompto could only whine in response.

“Hey, no shame in it,” the shield assured. “Watching you try to hide how needy you were was so fuckin’ hot.”

A breathily whispered “_Six_” was the only further sound that came from the front passenger seat.

Glancing at the wanton expression of the blond next to him, Ignis felt his will to make it to Gladin slowly crumble. Realistically, however, he knew finding a room other than the one that had been booked for them would be a challenge. Other motorists caught in the construction traffic would likely have similar plans to stop somewhere nearby and would easily fill up any available lodgings. It would be best to stay on their intended course, no matter how much the advisor wished to have that beautiful freckled face laying under him.

“Hey Iggy, how much longer?” Gladio’s lust-tinged voice sounded.

“The traffic seems to finally be letting up, so if I were to guess, I’d say approximately another fifty minutes. However I _am_ willing to bend the speed limits somewhat.”

“Seriously?” Noctis laughed in disbelief. “Ignis Scientia, notorious rule-follower, speeding just to get some sweet ass?”

The advisor huffed in irritation. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’d simply like to be able to stretch my legs sooner than later.”

“Gonna be stretchin’ those legs alright,” Gladiolus murmured.

_Astrals_, it was going to be a long fifty minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> Side note: Regis and Clarus are happy because either A) they know the boys are all in love and are hoping a road trip will get them to stop being idiots B) they want the boys out of the house so they can have some ~alone time~ or C) both. Didn't feel like it was super relevant to the story which is why I didn't elaborate in the fic, but I figured I should acknowledge it somewhere.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments of any kind are really appreciated!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at finwaytootired


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